Understanding Your 3 Dart Average in Darts 501

While it may seem odd to start an article about 3 dart averages with some anecdotal data from professional baseball player Mickey Mantle, the quote is quite illustrative of the challenge we sometimes have as darts players in talking about 3 dart averages in the game of 501.

Data allows us to paint a picture and tell a story. The question truly is: What story are we trying to tell when talking about 3 Dart Averages?

There is often awe and amazement when hearing the 3 dart averages in a recap of a professional darts match. It seems as though it is the most telling statistic towards surmising who should have won; however, it is not.

How we talk about 3 dart averages needs to be managed a little better. For those that might not fully understand how a 3 dart average (3DA) (sometimes called Points Per Round or PPR) gets calculated, here is a breakdown:

An Average is the result of adding 2 or more numbers in a data set then dividing that sum by the amount of numbers in the given data set.

As applied to a leg of 501, your 1 dart average would be the total points scored (in a win or loss) divided by the number of darts thrown, then multiply that number by 3 to get your 3 dart average. This is the same no matter how many legs-worth of a data set you are measuring.

As a community, we sometimes get the definition of a 3 dart average conflated, especially with slightly foggy late-night memories of how good a leg (or legs) was. Yes, it is factual to say you threw a 100+ 3 dart average if you threw a 15 dart-leg. It would be the same truth as a baseball player on opening day getting 3 hits in 4 at-bats and saying he is batting .750. It is honest, but it is not the full picture.

One baseball game and a leg of darts are very small data sets. When players inquire about your 3 dart average, they are not asking about the average you threw in your best leg; they are asking about the 3 dart average you can sustain over many legs. Over a night, a best of 11, set play, or over wins and losses. They are trying to more specifically ask, “What level do you play on?”

PPR, or your 3 dart average, is simply one metric to illustrate your skill level. What must be remembered is that a higher 3 dart average does not automatically translate into wins. It seems evident to say that if you want to know who won, you need to look at who hit more leg-winning doubles. The level of play in darts should be thought of as what round to the line you are finishing (on average).

Here is a chart of what 3 dart averages look like for every amount of darts thrown (until 30) with the assumption that the leg has been won, which means 501 points have been scored and a double has been hit.

At clinics, I often ask, “Who here would be happy throwing 30 dart legs?” Almost no one raises their hand.

When I ask, "Who would like to throw a 50 PPR?", many players raise their hands. Then they are surprised to find out they are the same. 

How we choose to tell the story is just as important as the content. We need to know and understand the data from this chart in order to analyze it and use it as a tool for improvement (aiming for a higher 3 dart average).

An important distinction to make: Improving is not about the 3 dart average itself. It is about the dart or the round to the line you finish in. Finishing a round to the line sooner prohibits your opponent from stepping to the oche for another turn. Your opponent can’t win if they don’t get to throw again. It is for this reason that I believe that DartConnect's ExactBot is an ideal tool for training by yourself to improve. Depending on the level of play, the bot will finish on the last dart on the turn to the line you set it up for.

Years ago, before such technology, this was exactly how I worked with my practice partner Fred Krueger. He taught me we were throwing for 18 darts, and if neither of us hit it, we were chalking it up as a loss and starting over. It was a great motivator. It isn't playing simply to win, you're playing for a level of excellence. That is what you should be reaching for in looking to improve: the next level up.

Seeing this data should give clarity and prompt questions. Here are some points to help you understand 3 dart average, or your PPR, better.

You will see your 3 dart average in a DartConnect Recap for a leg, but not likely for an entire match. That is because you don’t win every leg, so you are not constantly dividing a multiple of 501 by the number of darts thrown. Also, if by chance you did win every leg, based on number of legs and darts, your data set may not work out to one of these exact numbers.

For example: If you win a best of 11, 6-0, 3006 points scored with 106 darts thrown, your 3 dart average would be 85.08.

Whether in a team league or long format singles league, you should look at your 3 dart average as a good guide for the correct level of play if your leg % is between 40%-60%.

Why this range? It is what will be asked of you to win against equitable competition. Winning a best of 11, 6-5 is 55%. Winning a best of 31, 16-15 is 52%. Winning a best of 5 in set play with the worst possible score (3-2, 0-3, 3-2, 0-3, 3-2) is 43%. You are completing if you are within that range. Any less and you should likely go down a division. Any more and you should play up.

Not only do you need to be PUSHED to improve, you also have to hold up your end by doing the PUSHING too.

For example, if you are “averaging” a 60 3 dart average but losing 6-0 without getting to shoot the double, you should be playing in a lower division in order to learn how to shoot the doubles under pressure and hopefully win. Your 3 dart average will be lower, but you will build resilience by learning how to win against equitable competition. You are doing yourself a disservice to walk around saying you are a "60 3 dart average" with that result.

Again, a factual data point that is trying to tell one story, but not the whole story.

At the lower levels, your 3 dart average or PPR should be disregarded. There are many more important things to focus on (like D.O.L.E.) to improve. There are simple, goal-oriented routines that allow you to first get comfortable with the game before you think about averages.

Look at the chart carefully. You will notice that there is difference in the 3 dart averages between turns to the line (i.e., dart 15 is a 100.2 PPR, and dart 16 equals 93.94 PPR). If your 3 dart average is inbetween turns to the line, it means you are close! You are likely competing well in many legs against better players and hopefully winning cleanly against lesser players. While you are close to a major breakthrough, this is where the extra work will pay off. Keep grinding, especially on your doubles.

We are so used to thinking about data in round numbers that we can make the same mistake when looking at our 3 dart average. As you can see, the thresholds at the turns to the line are only round numbers at dart 15 = 100 3 dart average and dart 30 = 50 3 dart average. The rest of the numbers are not round, meaning that it doesn’t make a difference in winning percentage to average 59 vs 60. The same with 69 vs. 70. Or 89 vs. 90. 

This is why it is easier and healthier to manage legs as rounds to the line. The thresholds become clearer when they are viewed this way. When setting a goal to be a 60 3 dart average, the goal should really be 62.63 or 24 darts (round 8 to the line). This is how to manage goal setting, and how singles division organizers should be grouping players.

One statement about 3 dart averages on the high level of playing darts, and one statement on the low level.

1. 18 darts (round 6 to the line) will allow you to hang around on occasion against the best on the throw. Why do I say this? Well, it means that against the throw, your opponent needs to finish in 15. And while they can and do, on average, every pro is not averaging over 100 in each match they play. While a 83.50 3 dart average may not seem like a “pro average”, there is no difference in preventing your opponent back to the line if you are finishing on dart 16 (93.94) or dart 18. Most pro averages exist between darts 15 and 16; between turns 5 and 6. It is where LOTS of professional legs get won and lost.

2. No one should consider averages until you get to the 30 dart threshold. That should be everyone's first goal. This may bother some lower level players, but there are simply more important things to consider before your 3 dart average. After you throw more than 30 darts (round 10), the amount your 3 dart average changes to round 11,12,13,14 and beyond is minuscule. At this point, both players are getting multiple rounds to the line at the double (i.e., 39 darts equals a 38.54 PPR or 3 dart average, 40 darts equals a 37.58 PPR or 3 dart average).

Now that you understand how to better look at 3 dart averages, you can use them for goal setting. For example, imagine setting a goal for 30 darts.

The leg should be managed in two parts: 1) scoring, and 2) setups/outs. 21 darts for scoring (meaning: getting to 170 or lower) and 9 darts to set up and double out from 170. Looking at a scoreboard like this as a score comes down lets you know if you are on pace with scoring, and if you are getting out in the darts you have allotted to reach your goal. It directly lets you know what you need to practice more of.

(Pro tip and hint: You don't need to hit one triple to accomplish this.)

This approach to managing a leg can be used and adjusted, no matter what level you are reaching for.

Turn off the 3 dart average feature on your scoring app during a match. One of the worst mistakes we can make is becoming aware of the 3 dart average stat in the moment, during a leg. It is not functional for our minds to process data as it comes in. Doing and analyzing at the same time, in real-time, all but ensures that one or the other or both are not getting done well. Let the apps collect the data as you are playing.

Focus on your goals. That means being present and mindful in each leg until the end. After the match, with some time to cool down and unwind, whether you won or lost, there will be a set of data that your mind will be ready to take in and analyze. 

Then you can ask yourself: Did I lose legs because I missed doubles? Did I lose legs because I wasn’t close to an out (i.e., you didn’t score well)? Were the legs I won done so with a push? Without a push? With too many attempts at doubles? Were the legs I won really good legs? Were they ugly, gritty legs?

Across all levels, we should be practicing many more doubles than triples since doubles = wins. And for those that say they do, I am politely calling BS. The evidence is in your home or pub dartboards. Nowhere has anyone ever seen a dartboard in which the doubles were worn out the way the triple 20 segments get worn.

We should be practicing doubles the way we tend to practice triples, especially on the lower levels. While some may make the argument, “Well, if I don’t score enough, I won’t even get darts to shoot at the doubles”. The data suggests on the lower levels that both opponents are often getting at least 9 darts at the double, if not many, many more. This may be a difficult reality to stomach, but avoiding this fact doesn’t make it any less factual.

Very few legs on the lower levels are getting won because a player was simply beat to the double, and the double was taken out right away. If that was truly happening, such players would be on a higher level.

Yes, I get it. Practicing triples seems to be more fun — it feels better when we hit them, and practicing doubles can be monotonous and hard. But this is the game you chose to play, and no one ever said it would be easy to improve.

Respectfully,

Dax

Dr. Manhattan